Are you able to divide your time effectively between work and leisure?
What positive effects does your work have on your life?
What negative effects, if any, does your work have on you? What can you do about it?
If you could choose, would you change your job? Would you just change some of the conditions but keep the same type of job?
Rate the following in order of importance for you (not important; important; very important):
decent salary
higher salary
shorter working day
flexible working hours
friendly workmates
pleasant atmosphere at work
Are people willing to move further away from home nowadays in order to find work? Would you? Have any of your friends done this?
Would you be prepared to leave the country in order to look for work? If you HAD to leave the country where would you go to work?
In your job, do you prefer to deal with people or machines and systems? Why?
Working hours
How many hours a week in general do you think people work in our country?
Is there a law in our country about how many hours a week people can work?
Do you think people work too many hours?
Do you think working longer hours actually means you do more work?
Who do you think work longer hours: men or women?
Which professions do you imagine work more extra hours: managers and professionals or skilled and manual labour?
Why do people tend to work long hours?
What negative things can be caused by working too long?
How would you react if you were told in the job interview that the timetable would include shift work?
How would you react if you were told that you would have to work a lot of overtime?
Employment
Why do people have to work? In an "ideal" world would everybody work or nobody work?
What does the education system do to prepare people for work or to assist them to find jobs? Is it efficient?
Why do people go to university? To obtain job skills? To get a degree? To have a good time? To find a husband/wife? To put off having to go out into the "real life" and find a job?
In your job are you able to earn commission or get a productivity bonus, or do you only get a base salary?
Many people who embark on a career after obtaining a university degree seem to have more difficulty in finding employment than some skilled manual workers. Why is this?
Do you know how salaries in your country compare with your neighbours? Do most people consider themselves to be “overworked and underpaid”? What professions are well-paid?
ASSIGNMENT In class we have discussed about employment discrimination on different grounds. Task 1. Watch the film "Philadelphia" and make a short presentation of the case of employment discrimination. Role-play: the prosecution - the defendant Task 2. Webquest: Find other instances of employment discrimination either in films or on the web and make an oral minipresentation (5 minutes) in class.
EDUCATION, WORK, EMPLOYMENT
CONVERSATION
You and your job
Working hours
Employment
- Why do people have to work? In an "ideal" world would everybody work or nobody work?
- What does the education system do to prepare people for work or to assist them to find jobs? Is it efficient?
- Why do people go to university? To obtain job skills? To get a degree? To have a good time? To find a husband/wife? To put off having to go out into the "real life" and find a job?
- In your job are you able to earn commission or get a productivity bonus, or do you only get a base salary?
- Many people who embark on a career after obtaining a university degree seem to have more difficulty in finding employment than some skilled manual workers. Why is this?
- Do you know how salaries in your country compare with your neighbours? Do most people consider themselves to be “overworked and underpaid”? What professions are well-paid?
JOB HUNTING, COVER LETTERS, ETC.CASE STUDY: SMOKING IN PUBLIC PLACES
ASSIGNMENT
In class we have discussed about employment discrimination on different grounds.
Task 1. Watch the film "Philadelphia" and make a short presentation of the case of employment discrimination.
Role-play: the prosecution - the defendant
Task 2. Webquest: Find other instances of employment discrimination either in films or on the web and make an oral minipresentation (5 minutes) in class.